What are Management Patterns?

Management patterns are my observations of recurring practices in the area of management and team leadership. Both the name and the concept are loosely modeled on the notion of software design patterns. The idea is that a manager is constantly faced with a small number of archetypical problems which vary in their details but not in their overall form. For example, one such problem may be to make a decision between a cheap short-term solution and an expensive long-term solution. Such archetypical problems also lend themselves to archetypical solutions (or patterns) with which they may be handled. Again, the details will vary, but the overall approach need not. Understanding a pattern allows a manager to have a framework with which to come up with a unique solution to the particular problem they are facing.

I will also be using the term 'management pattern' to apply to something a bit different, which is a behavioural pattern or pathology which is quite common amongst managers. For example, I may describe as a pattern the tendency of many managers to seek to withhold unsettling information from their team.

Tomorrow I will post the first pattern, so hopefully this will give a bit more of a flavour of what they're like.

Note: I've put this description in the About This Blog page for the benefit of new visitors.

Welcome

Welcome to Management Patterns. This blog is all about the types of behaviours that make for good managers and leaders, and those that make for bad managers. I am not a management scientist or professional student of management. However, I have led a variety of teams in a number of organisations and, of course, have at the same time been led and managed. The patterns I describe here are based on my own observations and reflections, and are representative of my own experiences in particular teams, at particular companies, in a particular industry. The experience of others may vary, and I'd be very interested to engage with readers on their own observations of management patterns.

In the meantime: I hope you get something useful out of this blog, and don't be afraid to comment! I'll try to keep to a reasonably regular schedule, publishing at least once a week.